Thoughts on Life, Love, Politics, Hypocrisy and Coming Out in Mid-Life

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Washington Post: More Hard Work and Advances in Gay Marriage Needed

With numerous lawsuits pending in multiple states seeking to strike down gay marriage bans - two such suits are pending in Virginia - the Washington Post editorial board weighs in arguing that more advances are needed. The editorial notes that further progress cannot be taken for granted - a very true statement given the hate and animus that motivates the Christofascist base of the Republican Party that continues to demand GOP support for every law and constitutional amendment that demeans gays and reduces us to a lesser level of citizenship. Here are editorial highlights:

ONLY A DECADE ago, the events of recent days would have been
unimaginable. President Obama announced that, instead of attending the
2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, he would send an official delegation
that will conspicuously include openly gay U.S. athletes — a clear
protest of Russian discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) people. New Mexico’s Supreme Court declared the state’s prohibition of same-sex unions unconstitutional. Then a federal judge threw out Utah’s same-sex marriage ban.

We are coming to the end of a second banner year for gay and
lesbian equality. Indeed, after the heady victories of 2012 and 2013,
continuing progress might seem as inevitable as it did impossible a few
years ago. But further progress can’t be taken for granted. LGBT people,
and their friends and loved ones, are reaping the rewards of decades of
hard work in the face of persistent discrimination. The need for such
hard work isn’t over.

In June, the Supreme Court struck down the most odious parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
which barred federal benefits to same-sex couples, and the justices
ruled against Proposition 8, which had banned same-sex unions in
California. The court did not proclaim same-sex marriage to be a
constitutional right. But its decisions have informed many other
legal proceedings that will likely bring the question before the court
again in a couple of years. The Utah case is one of those. Encouraged by
the Supreme Court rulings, meanwhile, more and more state and local
officials are arguing that same-sex marriage restrictions in their
jurisdictions violate the federal Constitution.

Yet, save the late addition of Utah, where the fate of the judicial
decree remains uncertain, every state in which same-sex marriage or
civil unions are legal voted for President Obama in the past two
elections. That’s also true of most of the states on gay rights campaigners’ target lists for the next few years.

In other words, it’s still unclear whether the wave of equality that has
swept from state to state over the past two years is national or
regional, bound to crash ineffectually on more conservative parts of the
country. The Supreme Court stopped short of declaring same-sex marriage
a constitutional right — which is the logical and moral outcome — in
large part because a more ambitious ruling might provoke a nasty and
counterproductive backlash.

Meanwhile, Congress has yet to guarantee workplace equality. And countries from Russia to Uganda to India to Australia went backward in their stances on gay rights this year.

We should celebrate that millions of Americans, including President Obama,
are “evolving” on this issue.
But further progress can’t be assumed. In 2014, as in every prior year,
the fight for equality will take hard organizing and patient persuasion.

Translate This Page

Contact Me to Order Title Work

LGBT Legal Services

About Me

Out gay attorney in a committed relationship; formerly married and father of three wonderful children; sometime activist and political/news junkie; survived coming out in mid-life and hope to share my experiences and reflections with others.
In the career/professional realm, I have merged my aw firm - Michael B. Hamar, P.C. - with Dillon Law group PLC and become affiliated with Liberty Title & Escrow Co.. I practice in the areas of real estate, estate planning (Wills, Trusts, Advanced Medical Directives, Financial Powers of Attorney, Durable Medical Powers of Attorney); business law and commercial transactions; formation of corporations and LLC's; and legal services to the gay, lesbian and transgender community, including birth certificate amendment.

Disclaimer on Opinions and Content

This Blog contains content that may be innapropriate for readers under the legal age of 18. IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE, PLEASE LEAVE NOW. Thank you

This is an opinion and commentary blog and the opinions and contents of this Blog - including opinions expressed concerning opponents of LGBT equality - are the opinions only of the individual blogger and should not be attributed to any other individuals or to any organization of which the blogger is a past or current member.

Followers

Michael-in-Norfolk disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material displayed on this site and does not claim credit for any images or articles featured on this site, unless otherwise noted. All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies, and Michael-in-Norfolk does not make warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the site's content. If you own rights to any of the images or articles, and do not wish them to appear on this site, please contact Michael-in-Norfolk via e-mail and they will be promptly removed. Michael-in-Norfolk contains links to other Internet sites. These links are provided solely as a convenience and are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information or content in such site has been endorsed or approved by this blog.